Sean Payton Makes Strange Admission About NFL Draft Scheme

The 2024 NFL draft tied the all-time record for most quarterbacks being taken in the opening round.

On top of the tied record, all six of the signal callers went within the first 12 picks. One team that was on the outside looking in when it came to getting in on the quarterback of the future train was the Las Vegas Raiders.

They held the No. 13 pick, which they took Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with. However, while seemingly everyone around Las Vegas knew that they had their sights set on Michael Penix Jr., the Denver Broncos weren't entirely sure.

When speaking to Diana Russini on her podcast "Scoop City," head coach Sean Payton revealed he and the Broncos had employed some trickery to make sure the Raiders weren't going to trade up.

“Our concern right behind us were the Raiders,” Payton said on Scoop City . “Then it was like, ‘Call the Raiders and tell them we might want to move back’… and they didn’t want to move up, and then there’s that minute you wait, and we stay put, and the Jets make their pick and then here we are [drafting Bo Nix].”

The Broncos were worried that the Raiders would attempt to trade up to the No. 11 pick, which was owned by the New York Jets, and draft Bo Nix. A move that likely no one was thinking about, considering the Raiders had their eyes on Penix, and most insiders had Nix graded as a second-round pick.

It is also worth noting that ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirmed that the Raiders appeared to have been interested in Penix over both JJ McCarthy and Nix.

"A Raiders source said the team would have considered Penix at No. 13, more so than McCarthy or Nix, but he was long gone by then,” Fowler wrote after the draft in April.

While Vegas hasn't yet gotten a permanent solution at quarterback, their "consolation prize" ended up being a player in Bowers that many viewed as the best overall in the draft. So, whoever they end up drafting, signing or trading for after this season will have plenty of weapons to throw to.

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